Book Review: The Wide Starlight

The Wide Starlight
Nicole Lesperance

An atmospheric magical realism novel that blurs the lines of memory, grief, and magic this is a book perfectly suited for the cold and dark nights of midwinter. Split into folktale lyricism and compelling semi surrealist prose, Eli’s story will curl around your imagination as Lesperance takes you on a expertly written story. This is a book ideal for readers who don’t need concrete answers, and it is ripe for discussion groups of any age, though it will most appeal to teens.

The blurb on Goodreads does a much better job than I could attempt to entice and condense, so I’m adding it here.

According to Arctic legend, if you whistle at the Northern Lights, they’ll swoop down and carry you off forever. Sixteen-year-old Eline Davis knows it’s true because it happened to her mother. Eli was there that night on the remote glacier in Svalbard, when her mother whistled, then vanished.

Years later, Eli is living with her dad on Cape Cod. When Eli discovers the Northern Lights will be visible for one night on the Cape, she hatches a plan to use the lights to contact her missing mother. And it works. Her mother arrives with a hazy story of where she’s been all this time. Eli knows no one will believe them, so she keeps it all a secret. But when magical, dangerous things start happening–narwhals appearing in Cape Cod Bay, meteorites landing in the yard by the hundreds, three shadowy fairytale princesses whispering ominous messages–the secrets start to become more like lies.

It’s all too much, too fast, and Eli pushes her mother away, not expecting her to disappear as abruptly as she appeared. Her mother’s gone again, and Eli’s devastated. Until she finds the note written in mother’s elegant scrawl: Find me where I left you. And so, off to Svalbard Eli goes.

The heartache is real, and often with those who experience loss, Eli’s internal perception of the world is that much more poignant for knowing the losses life hands you. I was uncertain I’d be able to handle this story, given losing my mother almost 2 years ago, but thankfully the beautiful and raw relationship Lesperance has crafted was dissimilar enough from my own that I was able to get through the book.

Split into 2 parts, and split further between alternating homespun fairytale vignettes, which play an important role to the book, and more concrete plot Lesperance’s tone shifts subtly between the two styles. Even the more “concrete” portions of the plot tend to echo dreamy qualities. There were definitely times I doubted Eli’s ability to be a reliable narrator, particularly in Part 1, but the emotional pay off and closure in Part 2 are worth the wait.

There are more than a few instances where Lesperance’s magical realism takes shape as perhaps mental illness– likely schizophrenia, and there is plenty of room for interpretation that a discussion group will have a field day with. I don’t necessarily agree with the delineation goodreads has assigned it for mental health, though it could be for different reasons than the ones I’m thinking. I’m firmly in the realm of “everything happened.”

The almost frustrating part for me as a reader was when the things Eli was experiencing were also being experienced by others– it’s the first time a I’ve experienced a negative reaction to magical realism, because it also reads like she’s hallucinating. Despite my reservations, and a distaste for books that don’t have narrators grounded in reality, it still works incredibly well. As I mentioned before, if you’re like me, stick through to Part 2 for more of the grounding.

As someone unfamiliar with the specific stories referenced in The Wide Starlight, I couldn’t help but feel a pang in my heart as I read them. I’ve read enough to pick out certain characters and creature types from other stories that are more spoken than written down these days in certain circles, particularly as this book concerns the fey. The book mentioned in the guide Lesperance included in the back may find its way onto my shelves at some point, filling a small Swedish hole in my heart eroded over generations by America. Despite these familiar stories, character types, and creatures, I was delighted at the way in which Lesperance revealed the story. Perhaps a more seasoned folktale reader might guess the twists, but I think they will still enjoy the ride.

Eli is a prickly narrator, to be sure. Both in her perception of reality, but also in her ability to maintain relationships with others. Her friendship with Iris is incredibly strained, and there is accountability to be faced there which added a thread of grounding throughout. Iris was almost flat as a character, but given enough bite to feel authentic. I wish I had been able to articulate myself as succinctly as her and Eli express their feelings; though Eli’s listening skills feel entirely accurate to teenagers (my younger self definitely included). Other characters, while not getting as much fleshing out time as Eli, all have a moment to shine with her or on their own.

Despite being a story spawned by grief and memories, it wasn’t overwhelmed by them. It wasn’t until the very last two or three chapters I felt a hard emotional pull; during which I was (of course) a little weepy on desk. This reading experience is a credit to Lesperance, not a hindrance in any way and you’ll have to read it too in order to understand.

Overall, I think this is a good title to keep in your back pocket for teenagers looking to explore grief, different takes on magical realism, or connection to the winter’s dark/light. I probably wouldn’t hand it to anyone under grade 8, though there’s no content that is inappropriate by any means. I’ve been delighted with the amount of books crafted well to their audience, The Wide Starlight is no exception. Adult book clubs, or adult readers, looking to shake things up with a YA novel will do well to consider adding this title to their consideration piles as well. There’s a little something for everyone in it, especially people looking to avoid the melodrama of teen romance.